Intake manifold



June 1930- w. H. WORTHINGTON 1,767,031

INTAKE MANIFOLD Filed March 20, 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet l June 24. 1930. w. H. WORTHINGTONI INTAKE MANIFOLD Filed March 20, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 24, 1930. w H. WORTHINGTON INTAKE MANIFOLD Filed March 20, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 U 2 g j; z 1 mm j 1 ZZZ 225/7 yILe K7 0727217 Wm Patented June 24, 1930 'WAYNE H. WORTHINGTON, F BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN INTAKE MANIFOLD Application filed March 20, 1925. Serial N0. 16,876.

My invention relates to improvements in intake manifold for internal combustion engines and method. of preparing combustible mixtures, andiis directed to the idea of progressively heating the combustible mixture in a controlled and variable manner depending upon engine requirements so as to provide a combustible mixture which, when it reaches the engine cylinder, will have many of the characteristics of a gaseous fuel as distinguished from the characteristics of a liquid fuel.

Cooperating to carry out the proper heat treatment of the liquid, 1 make use of turbulence in a novel manner so as to insure that every particle of atomized liquid fuel in the mixture will receive heat treatment.

I propose to subject the fuel to a gradually, progressively, increasing temperature so that during the passage of this fuel through the heated zone, the components of the liquid will be gradually boiledofi as they reach the zone where the temperature is appropriate for these results. There will thus be a zone ranging in temperature from the lowest temperature calculated to gasify or vaporize the lighter fuel fractions without disassociation or cracking, to the highesttemperature, calculated to gasify or vaporize the heavier fractions, and all fractions between will be taken care of by the gradually increasing temperature of the zone as they progress through it. Such zones must also be of a range sufficient to progressively heat applied thereto either by conduction, or radiation, or both. l

jected to heat is exceedingly short, some means are necessary for, insuring that each liquid fuel particle be brought into intimate contact with the heating elementor heating 4 surface and I propose, therefore, to provide turbulence in the intake manifold so as to insure thatfduring the passage through the heated zone substantially all liquid particles the fuel, regardless of 'whether the heat is means for setting up an unusually violent in the combustible mixture will be brought to the heated surface. Such turbulence fur- .ther'provides a means for heating the interior of the mixture stream within the exceedingly short time available for such heating. I propose to'obtain this turbulence by dividing the combustible mixture into a plurality of streams or jets and causing these jets to impinge on one another along sharply inclined paths. For instance, in the preferred form, there is provided a main current or channel for the combustible mixture and a by-pass which may or may not be of smaller cross sectional area which discharges back into the main channel at right angles thereto. The impinging of these two streams, traveling as they do at high velocities sets up the most violent turbulence and thus insures that from then on all particles of the liquid suspended in the air will be brought into, sufficiently intimate contact with the heated surface.

There is also provided means whereby the temperature of the heated mixture may be controlled or regulated in correlation with the engine demand, to prevent too cool a mixture under conditions of reduced volumetric requirements or'an excessively heated mixture under condltlons of lncreased volu- 'metric requirements. This is accomplished by applying different degrees of heat at 'VELIlOIlS branches of-the intake manifold and by differentially controlling the proportions of mixtures passing through the various branches. Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification.

and claims.

This invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings,wherein: Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through the intake and exhaust manifold showlng theengine and carburetor in elevation i 1 Figure 2 is of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a section along the line 3 3 of Figure 2; Y I

Figure 4=is a perspective showing parts in' section and parts broken away. to illusa section alongthe line 2 2 trate the operation of the control mechanism.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

A is the engine block containing the usual cylinders, valves and working mechanisms. Associated with this engine block is a combined intake and exhaust manifold A This manifold is adapted to be clamped or bolted to the side of the engine block in any suitable manner not here illustrated and discharges in the form here illustrated into the engine block through the two spaced ports A A the combustible mixture being carried to these cylinders by any suitable passage not here shown. Bolted to the top of this manifold is a control housing A which carriesthe carburetor A in the usual manner, bolted to a carburetor .fiange A Integral with the intake manifold is the exhaust manifold A adapted to receive the exhaust from the engine through the exhaust ports A and discharge the burnt gases through the exhaust ports A intoany suitable exhaust pipe as indicated. A A are sleeves extending through the exhaust chamber to permit .passage of the holding bolts which hold the manifold in place against the engine'blockwithout permitting the uncontrolled escape of'the productsof combustion.

It will be noted that the Venturi passage B .at the intake end of the intake or induction passage discharges into two branch passages B B which lead to the ports A The walls of these branch passages are heated by conduction through the web B? leading temperature ofthe wallof the intake passages .from the point at which combustible mixture is received in .the intake passage to the point at which it'is discharged to the engine. B? is a U-shaped primary induction passage extending down along the outside wall of the exhaust manifold and then back up through the air .ieated by the exhaust gasand discharging atB into the passage B at right angles to its axis just before it 'discharges into the'two branches B Thus the mixture coming in through the passage 13 is discharged into the :main stream coining into the passage B at right angles.

' Enclosed within the .contrelhousing A is a main mixture intake passage Czcontrolledby abutterfiy'valve G Thismain -;intake passage has two branches, one pr;-

laden air or combustible mixture is drawn in through the carburetor A and is throttled by the valve C and then divided finally through two separate parallel passages subject to different conditions of heat until the flow is rejoined immediately be fore entering the distribution branches of the manifold.

The valve C is mounted on a valve stem D pivoted in the wall of the member A Pinned to this stem is a bell crank lever D to which is pivoted a throttle control stem D The other arm of the bell crank lever is connected by means of the link D to a lever D floating on the valve stem D, which stem carries the valve D". D is a lever keyed to the stem 1). D is an adjusting screw interposed between the levers D and D whereby the relation between the rotary movement of the stems D and ,D may be adjusted so that a certain predetermined movement of the valve C will take place before the valve C will open. The valve 0 is unbalanced so that thesuction of the engine tends always to keep it closed except when positively opened by the operation of the linkage.

The construction of many carburetors is such that their ability to properly meter the fuel and air depends upon the functioning of a throttle valve built into the carburetor. When such carburetors are used,

the inbuilt throttle of the carburetor .may

be utilized to replace the main throttle C thereby effecting areduction of the total number of parts required without altering the method of operation.

It will be evident that while I have shown in my drawings an operative device,

still many changes might be made in the ,sition the-distributing valve in the main air intake passage will be closed and all .the combustible mixture will pass through the primary induction passage or by pass, passing through'the exhaust chamber .to the intake branches and thence to the engine. The arrangement of parts is such that the cooler end of the primary passage will be toward theintake and the hotter end toward the discharge. Whenbut a small amount of fuel is being fed to the engine, it will all pass in through this relatively small-progressivelyheated passage. .As the of my invention down .lll)

engine demand increases, however, and the reached at which the unbalanced distributing valve will commence to open, allowing some of the combustible mixture to be drawn directly in without passing through the primary induction passage. Such combustible mixture will enter the distribution branches of the intake manifold in the direction parallel with a Venturi axis instead of at right angles to it as in the case of mixture fed in by the primary passage. impingement of these two streams of fuel laden air along sharply inclined paths to one another will set up a very violent eddying and whirling action which will both commingle and intermingle the relatively highly heated gases and will also set up a turbulence which will insure that a considerable proportion of the resulting mixture will at some time during its passage through the balance of the induction passage be thrown against the heated walls thereof.

By the arrangement shown it will be noted that I propose to treat the combustible tor in two separate areas. One area or zone 1 or chamber heats a part of the mixture to a very high heat, another zone tempers this Y resulting mixture before entering the engine. This results in giving a relatively long time during which heating of themixture can take place and at the same time provides the necessary degree of turbulence to simultaneously establish mixing and commingling of the fuel'and air together with adequate heating.

The sudden expansion of the mixture passing out of the venturi tends of itself to set up turbulence, and in this way renders more effective the action of the heated mixture stream entering from the primary passage.

The turbulence of the mixture heats it throughout and prevents the passage of the mixture through the passages with the outer layers only .being heated, and the entire mixture, following the setting up of the condition of turbulence, is heated progressively until the temperature necessary to establish any desired condition of dryness is obtained.

The temperature of. the intake charge may be maintained at any desired point irrespective of throttle opening by properly proportioning the size of the two parallel intake passages and the angular relation of the throttle and control valves. during which the fuel or mixture remains in contact with the heater induction passage walls increases as the speed of the engine decreases, owing to the choking off of the mixture taken from the carbure-' The time larger passage, and the result :is that the fuel or mixture is "able to attain a higher temperature for reducedloads, if. that is desired, even through the temperature'of'the exhause gasesmaybe lowered. The de-- creased velocity results, of course, ina' decrease in turbulence, but this inc'rease in temperature counterbalances such decrease in turbulence. r

There is at all times a suflicient flow of take passage to provide a suflicient degree of turbulence to prevent separation of the fuel particles from the mixture stream. When 5 mixture'through the auxlharyor by-pass 1n- The metering means, a mixture intake passage leading therefrom, a plurality of mixture. passages arranged in'parallel', adapted toreceive the mixture from the first mentioned passage and adapted subsequently to join and to direct their respective streams toether alon shar l conver in aths a s e P y g a: P 9

single mixture passage adapted to receive both streams and to discharge the mixture to the engine, and'a venturi in one of said I parallel passages, positioned adjacent their.

junction, said single passage-being asharply inclined to both said parallel passages. i

2. A; manifold for internal'combustion engines' comprising a primary passage terminating in a Venturi tube, a bypassexposed at one end with the primary passage, discharging at the other end adjacent the venturi, in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof and a secondary mixture passa e into which the venturi" discharges at ri it angles thereto.

3. .A manifold for internal combustion engines comprising a primary passage terminating in a Venturi tube, a by pass exposed to the heat of the engine and communicating at one end with theprimary passage, dis charging at the other end adjacent the venturi, in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof, and a secondary mixture passage into which the venturi discharges at right angles thereto, a control valve in the primary passage between the venturi and the point at which the by pass leaves theIprimary passage, a throttlevalve in the primary passage between the intake end thereof and the by pass and immediately adjacent and nating in a Venturi tube-,a by pass exposed .to-the heat of the engine and communicating at 'one end with the primary passage, discharging at'the other endv into the venturi, in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof and a secondary mixture passage into which the venturi discharges at right angles thereto, a control valve in the primary passage between the venturiand the point 7' at which the by pass leaves the primary passage, a throttle valve in the primary passage between the intake end thereof and the by pass, meansfor operating said valves in unison,adapted to open the control valve only after the throttle has opened a predetermined distance. v

5. Amanifold for internal combustion engines comprising a primary passage terminating in a Venturi tube, a by pass communicating at one end with the primary passage, discharging at the other end into the venturi, in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof and exposed to the heat of the engine, and a secondary mixture passage into which the venturi discharges at right angles thereto, the temperature of the walls of the bypass increasing in the direction of flow of the mixture therethrough.

6. A manifold for internal combustion engines comprising a primary passage terminating in a Venturi tube, a by pass exposed to the heat of the engine and commumeating at one end with the primary passage, discharging at the other end into the venturi, in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof, and a secondary mixture passage into which the venturi discharges at right angles thereto, the secondary passage being also exposed to the heat of the engine.

Signed at Battle Creek, county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, this 9th day of -March,

WAYNE H. W ORTHINGTON. 

